Ditching the diets and labels

"I find it really frustrating because a lot of the claims made by fad diets have enough truth in them that they sound like it all must be true, like any good lie," McLeod told HuffPost Australia.

"Trying to sell that one size fits all is actually not the best approach -- everybody is different. If you're not sure what your needs are, see someone who's going to make it specialised and individualised for you."

Take for example removing gluten from your diet.

"For some people they feel better if they include wheat and gluten in their diets, whereas for other people they feel better without them. That doesn't mean a gluten free diet is better or worse than a gluten containing diet, it just depends on what's best for that individual," McLeod said.

The same approach goes for labelling food as 'good', 'bad' or 'rewards'.

"Even labelling food as 'good' or bad', which is a tendency we all have, is really unhelpful as it can translate to emotional eating. When you put so much restriction on, the only way out is to rebel and eat what you know is really unhealthy food."

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Stop pinning one against the other. Enjoy both, but simply more of the left.

Focusing on the three macronutrients

The three macronutrients important for overall health are: carbohydrates, protein and fats. One is not the devil, one is not an angel -- they are all important and come in a variety of forms.

1. Carbohydrates

I think carbohydrates are the main area of confusion," Renn told HuffPost Australia. "What we need are good carbohydrates (our body's main source of energy), which are whole grains and high fibre."

The easiest way to find the best carbohydrate option is to look at the fibre column in the nutrition information panel and choose the highest amount per gram.

"This goes for cereal, muesli bars, bread, pasta and so on. That will be the best choice," Renn said.

"Quantity of course matters -- if you eat too much of everything it's going to be extra calories. Just because it's good for you doesn't mean you can't eat too much of it."

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Keep calm and eat carbs.

2. Protein

Protein is another macronutrient which is a really important part of the diet.

"Protein is a source of nutrients, as well as being important for growth and repair," Renn said. "Protein also makes us feel full and satisfied after eating."

Whether you're a meat eater, pescetarian, vegetarian or vegan, you can get good quality protein in adequate amounts.

"You can have vegetarian protein like legumes, tofu, nuts and seeds or it can be meat, poultry, seafood, dairy and eggs," Renn said.

3. Fat

"The other macronutrient is fat and there's lots of different fats," Renn said. "Vegetable based fats are the healthier fat and oils, and the less healthy (generally speaking) are the visible fats on some meat."

"Healthy fats from different nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil and oily fish are the best sources," McLeod said.

Eating as many vegetables as you can

Aside from these macronutrients, aim to eat legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas and kidney beans) and as many vegetables as you can.

"Then you've got your fruit and vegetables. Just get two serves of fruit and five serves of veg," Renn said.

What it comes down to is appreciating there is no 'perfect' diet.

If you feel like eating enough vegetables is impossible (and, as a result, you don't try), start slow and work your way up. It's about progress not perfection.

Limiting (not restricting) processed foods

"What it comes down to is reducing your overall consumption of processed foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt," McLeod said.

"Aim to eat foods which comes in its natural form for the majority of your diet -- this will result in the best benefits."

And if you do eat something that's on the unhealthy side, don't worry. Enjoy it and gently get back on the healthy wagon.

"What it comes down to is appreciating there is no 'perfect' diet," McLeod said.

Keeping it simple

"This may be a boring answer but how your grandmother ate is potentially how we need to eat," Renn told HuffPost Australia.

"Simply minimise takeaway foods, cook at home, have a high fibre cereal for breakfast, a nice salad sandwich and piece of fruit for lunch, and meat (or vegetarian alternative) and vegetables for dinner."

Here are examples of healthy day's worth of meals.

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"Of course, you can tailor these to your individual needs to fit the general guidelines," McLeod said.